camera protection

[travis stark]

I plan on riding thru central america for 2-3 months, lots of off road. I just bought my first SLR and have heard that the cameras and lenses do not hold up well to vibration. Planned on putting my camera in a foamed lowe pro mini bag then inserting all into a larger foam lined canon case. Then keeping it all in my hard bags. Is this enough protection?

[Photog Rob]

I think it should be good enough, provided you don't allow the bag to bounce around inside your hard cases (Highly unlikely, provided the amount of stuff usually packed into them). Also try not to let the bag grind against the case wall, but keep it surrounded by other soft stuff (clothes, etc) and you should be able to click through the rough -and assorted endos- just fine.

Another point to watch is not letting stuff like lenses rub against each other inside the camera bag - an often overlooked problem that will at least ruin their finish, or worse.

Probably not for you, but maybe interesting to others with this problem, esp. those planning on making money from their pics: the ultimate in protection is often to be found in the Pelican product range, www.pelican.com . I have a pro friend that has trashed his through jungles, swamps and deserts throughout the world, and he's not afraid of swimmimg rivers with it full of F5's and US$15000+ in equipment.

Roberto.

[This message has been edited by Photog Rob (edited 10 December 2001).]

[Alex]

Pelican Case!

.... bloody fantastic! I finally bit the bullet and bought one (not cheap) about a year ago. Excellent.

(bad and expensive experiences - twice - with padded soft bags)

Can be a bit large though - hunt around for exactly the right size you want.

Another hint: put some napthalene flakes (mothball flakes) in a woman's stocking and keep in case - is a partial dessicant and keeps insects out. Good for tropics.

Cheers,

Alex.

[Photog Rob]

NO!!!

no, no, no, no! bad idea!

Alex, don't do that! Naphtalene flakes emit fumes that will corrode the anti-reflective coating in your lenses, effectively ruining them. Most camera manuals and lens leaflets warn about this. If you want a dessicant, use silica gel and put it in the oven every now and then to extract the moisture it has absorbed. Use big pouches, about the size of a credit card, not the useless "sweet and low" thingies that came with your camera.

Besides, who wants to use a camera that smells like mothballs?

Roberto.

[Kurt]

The Pellican case works great. I bought a smallish one and made a top case out of it. Totally waterproof and nearly indestructable. Also comes with precut foam to snug up those valuables. Shop around on the web: I bet I didn't pay more than $70US.

Kurt

[Alex]

Ooops - I'd better get those napthalene flakes out of my bag!

Strange though - that tip came from a professional at my (old) club - no-one raised any points then!

alex.

[A.B.]

I too have Pelican cases and I'm very happy with their protection. A bit expensive but defenetly worth it.

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A.B.
www.ShortWheelbase.com

[mattoneill]

Do you think an ordinary strength laptop would take the pounding of an overland trip in one of these cases?

[Photog Rob]

Yes, I do. Having it inside the case is not, however, a free-for-all, in the sense that you should still be careful with it. But if any case will, a Pelican will.

Man, It sounds as if I were a stockholder! (no I'm not).

Roberto.

[PanEuropean]

Aerostitch carries a product called a Art Express ProTour Tank Bag that is specifically made to carry expensive and fragile camera equipment. It's expensive, but only about half the cost of a lens.

[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 17 February 2002).]

[Daniela]

I understand that Pelican cases are unbreakable and watertight. But, using this case, how could I protect a digital videocamcorder from the vibrations of very bad corrugated tracks of Africa?

[A.B.]

The Pelican cases come filled with special pick and pluck (or something.. ) foam. You pluck some of the foam in the shape of the equipment you want to protect and the rest of the foam do the protection. The foam is pretty effective, but what really makes the difference is the structure of the case that transfers impacts to the outside shell and not inside.

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A.B.
www.ShortWheelbase.com

[This message has been edited by A.B. (edited 10 June 2002).]

[Jerome]

The protection sounds good. I'd comment on the access:

After trying several different arrangements I now use the Touratech enduro tank bag with two bodies in it; one with a 80-200 and the other a 17-25. They're sitting in foam cut to size.

For more serious stuff, national parks etc, I get the 300, 2X, tripod and binoculars couriered to me (in a Pelican case) and ship them back afterwards.

The advantages of this are:
- They are (relatively) quick to get out as that shot is never there for very long. If the camera is in a case it'll take too long to get out.
- I found I lost a lot of shots changing lenses.
- If the first choice runs out of film at least you can get something with the other before the shot goes (or reload).
- I don't have the weight of the 300 etc when I don't use it very often.

If you haven't used it a lot I suggest you get some films developed on the road so you can learn what works and what doesn't and to check the camera's ok.


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[This message has been edited by Jerome (edited 25 July 2002).]